Boys Ranches are where troubled boys come to develop better life attitudes, respect, grow in their beliefs, responsibility, and educationally.  Boys learn to turn around negative behaviors in a fun, safe, and nurturing environment.

Ranches in Beautiful Rural Locations

Nestled in beautiful mountains or in the plains, boys ranches offer residential programs designed to help troubled boys.

About Boys Therapy Ranches

No matter what a troubled teen boy is facing, a boys ranch may be the best way for him to find the help he needs. Parents who are looking at teen help facilities should definitely consider a boys ranch.

For many families, placing their child in a residential program is absolutely the right choice and the best chance to help their son, while they can. Boys ranches can help you work through that decision, since we won’t take your child into our program unless he really needs help.

Ranches are helpful for troubled teens because of the work elements and responsibilities that the boys participate in. The ranches also include aspects of other therapy programs by:

• Learning through doing – It pulls in the experiential education aspect of wilderness therapy programs by involving troubled boys in ranch life, something many of them have never experienced. The boys are less likely to hold onto negative habits as they are completely removed from their previous environments.

• Discipline without harshness – Ranch life is highly disciplined, much like would be found in a military-style teen boot camp. Animals need to be cared for on a strict schedule and chores consistently done. This is done without breaking down the young men to conform to a certain standard, unlike in a military-style program.

• Encourages high activity – A ranch-style program is closest in results to a therapeutic boarding school, as both have academic components as well as a strong therapy aspect. The main difference is the setting, which the ranch setting encourages high activity in its participants and the inclusion of animal therapy.

Therapy ranches are highly supervised and structured, giving the boys a safe and supportive place to work out their issues. Therapists and staff member work with the troubled boys to get to the root of their issues and learn new skills, habits and coping abilities.

How Do Boys Ranch Programs Help?

Boys ranch programs can be short-term or long term. If a short-term program is selected, that program is designed to be:

• A step in transition from family home to long-term boarding school.
• Behavior modification for less severe cases.
• Short-term therapy.

If parents choose to have their troubled son in a therapy ranch program long-term, that length of program is designed to be:

• Therapeutic environment with group and individual sessions to address troubled youth’s issues.
• Academic support with certified teachers so boys don’t fall behind while receiving therapy.
• Immersion in completely different lifestyle to allow for greater behavior modification.

Benefits Of A Therapy Ranch For Troubled Teen Boys

Regardless of length, at a boys ranch teens who suffer from a number of issues can get real help from trained professionals. Typical teen issues which can be helped at a boys therapy ranch include:

• ADD/ADHD
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Bipolar
• Trauma
• Substance abuse
• Learning disabilities
• Low self-esteem
• Abuse
• Abandonment
• Adoption issues

Parents should be sure to address any therapy concerns with the programs they are interested in to be sure that their son’s particular problems will be address by the particular program.

In most cases, therapists understand that a teen boy’s bad behaviors come from an inability to overcome those underlying issues, not because the boy is inherently bad. Therapy, support, environment change, and time can help boys as they work to separate their bad behaviors from themselves. The ranches can be that long-term solution to a teen boy’s problems, and facilities that have a successful record of healing troubled teen boys are plentiful.

Many ranches have specific programs designed to help boys heal, including equine therapy, recreational therapy, wilderness-based therapy and more. By bringing together many aspects of different therapy programs, there is a high margin for success when utilizing a ranch therapy program.

So, please consider the following questions as you make this difficult decision:

• Is your son’s behavior out of control?
• Is he running away or staying away from home without permission?
• Are you walking on pins and needles in your home?
• Is your boy liable to explode in anger without warning?
• Are counseling and other outpatient treatments working, or is his behavior worsening?
• Are the problems your child is facing persistent or even worsening despite his promises to change?
• Are your son’s behaviors placing his health or life, or that of your family, at risk?
• Is your son’s involvement in illegal, risky or immoral activities on the increase?
• Have there been legal problems that have arisen due to your son’s behavior, or are there charges being brought or could be brought that could lead to incarceration?
• Is your son deeply entangled with friends who are a negative influence, such that you simply cannot keep him away from them?
• Does he keep returning to negative behaviors even after periods of time when he has been doing well?
• Is your boy stealing money from you, or are valuables missing in the home?
• Has your boy lost interest in school, sports and “normal” adolescent activities?
• Have you found drug paraphernalia in his bedroom or his backpack?
• Are prescription drugs missing in the home, or have you found pills that you don’t know what they are?
• Are your son’s behaviors interfering with the completion of his education?
• Has there been violence or the threat of violence in the home? Have you thought you might be safer to lock your bedroom door at night?
• Has his actions or behaviors reached a point where you know that something more has to be done?

Boys Ranch Objectives

We teach the boys:

• Building healthy boundaries and relationships.
• Identifying and controlling destructive behaviors and beliefs.
• Learnt to honor and respect authority.
• Learning to treat everyone with compassion and respect.
• Physical conditioning through proper nutrition, sports, and outdoor activities.
• Learning the value of a good work ethic.
• Learn to excel academically and vocationally.